Video gaming has become over the years an exclusive experience. The complexities of some of the newest games and consoles have alienated those who used to play but now don't because the learning curve has steepened, mostly because of the growing complexity of the controllers and games. Nintendo expects to change that by creating, as they say "the most inviting, inclusive video game system to date".
Thanks to a unique controller, everyone regardless of age or skill level will be able to play games on the Nintendo Wii. Nintendo's President, revealed a prototype of the system's game controller at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show in September 2005. The Wii won the Game Critics Awards for Best of Show and Best Hardware. Nintendo's seventh-generation video game console and the company's fifth home console, is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2006.
The project code name is called Nintendo Revolution since Nintendo expects to set new gaming standards with this consol by enabling a whole new level of communication between player and consol. At the heart of this revolution is a revolutionary wireless controller system, a major feature of the Wii, which may be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect motion and rotation in three dimensions. The controller also contains a speaker and a rumbling device to provide sensory feedback. With this new controller, acting more as and extension of your body capable of communicating motion and speed, Nintendo claims, will open up gaming development possibilities to a whole new level. With this new level of interaction between player and console, is opening the doors for the game development community and is where the real revolution will be coming from.
Game developers won't be limited to a complex non ergonomic controller for input. They now have the ability to read a whole new set of player inputs, taking into consideration 3 dimensional body motions, speed of and relative positions of multiple players. Wii will makes you feel less like a player and more like you're in the game. Frenzied sword battles are no longer will be confined to pushing buttons, actually now you will be swinging the sword.
Forget about pushing a button to start a golf backswing now you will swing the club! And the console will monitor your back swing and your follow through as though you where on the fairway. This level of interaction will make this gaming the closest thing to the real thing but just as important will shrink the consol and game learning curves. One draw back is, this new console will require more room to play since gaming will become a physical activity like never before. Expect to move or remove your coffee table and your sofa so you have a playing area big enough to allow full body movements.
When playing multi player games, room will be an even more important consideration. Your swordsmanship, your marksmanship, your golf swing and your baseball swing will make a difference in your gaming success like never before. The new console is expected to hit the shelves by November, just in time for Christmas and no prices has yet been revealed, but expect to pay a premium console price.
But for those lucky souls who will get a chance to put their hands on one, they will be in gaming heaven. I know what I want for Christmas!.
Claude R. Bourgoin (MBA), is an gaming enthusiast as well as an online marketing consultant and Internet consultant and contributing author for a site dedicated to providing quality ecommerce and a quality online auction.